i am having such a difficult time maintaining my patience with a certain student. grrr.
he's in here at recess right now and i want to strangle him, so i had to walk away.
right now he's complaining about mosquitoes.
they're doing a dialectical journal, which is basically two columns; one side for a quote from the book, the other side for your thoughts/questions/reactions/feelings/connections regarding that part in the novel.
he wants me to help him. i've explained to him about fifty times what the assignment is and we've gone through examples of how to do this.
i keep telling him that he has to show me what he's thinking about. i can't help him because he has to show me what he's thinking. i am not his brain...he has to think.
the sad part is...there probably really aren't a whole lot of thoughts going through his brain that are even remotely related to the book we're reading.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
first cake experiences...
wow. brynna made one yesterday.
being the big celebrators we are (sarcasm...lol), we had the exact same celebration for brynna as we did for caleb. us, baba, grandpa and grandma colmenares, and uncle mark and aunty leish for dinner at our house. nothing fancy...shoyu chicken, hot dog, noodles, pasta salad, rice, and yummy cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.
seeing the difference between brynna's first cake experience and caleb's just highlights the differences between the two. brynna mushed her cupcake all up, getting both hands dirty, then shaking her hands and flying cake, which was all i could handle (lol). in the bathroom she proceeded to stuff cake in her face, inhaling some through her little nose. she LOVED cake.
caleb's first cake experience was a lot less messy. in fact, while brynna mushed her cake up, caleb said, "no, don't do that" and "sister, wash hand." his first cake experience was pretty much just sticking one finger in the frosting and licking his finger, but not wanting to get his whole hand dirty.
i know a lot of it is hard-wired in their brains, but i also wonder how much of the ocd-ness that caleb has versus the easygoing-ness of brynna has to do with us being way more uptight with caleb and waayyyy less with bryn. it'll be interesting to see how those differences continue to show themselves as they grow up.
being the big celebrators we are (sarcasm...lol), we had the exact same celebration for brynna as we did for caleb. us, baba, grandpa and grandma colmenares, and uncle mark and aunty leish for dinner at our house. nothing fancy...shoyu chicken, hot dog, noodles, pasta salad, rice, and yummy cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.
seeing the difference between brynna's first cake experience and caleb's just highlights the differences between the two. brynna mushed her cupcake all up, getting both hands dirty, then shaking her hands and flying cake, which was all i could handle (lol). in the bathroom she proceeded to stuff cake in her face, inhaling some through her little nose. she LOVED cake.
caleb's first cake experience was a lot less messy. in fact, while brynna mushed her cake up, caleb said, "no, don't do that" and "sister, wash hand." his first cake experience was pretty much just sticking one finger in the frosting and licking his finger, but not wanting to get his whole hand dirty.
i know a lot of it is hard-wired in their brains, but i also wonder how much of the ocd-ness that caleb has versus the easygoing-ness of brynna has to do with us being way more uptight with caleb and waayyyy less with bryn. it'll be interesting to see how those differences continue to show themselves as they grow up.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
perma eye twitch
for a few days now i've had an irritating, constant eye twitch. it's bothering the heck out of me. it feels ridiculous. i know that the only thing that will end it is some much needed sleep, but unfortunately, i don't rule my sleeps...caleb and brynna do.
dave is hella tired too. we thought this long weekend would make it better...but due to caleb's weird sleep patterns, it only made it worse.
last night was actually nice for the fact that my mom "locked" caleb in their room until he fell asleep. hehe. i think he shut the door to their room (that's his new thing, closing our doors) and then he couldn't get out anymore. i could hear him knocking from the inside of their room, then crying loudly, but my mom didn't let him out and there was no way in hell i was going to get him. lol.
it's 720, brynna's pau bocha and i'm gonna bocha caleb soon. unfortunately, both took naps today so i'm thinking an extra early bedtime isn't going to work tonight.
dave is hella tired too. we thought this long weekend would make it better...but due to caleb's weird sleep patterns, it only made it worse.
last night was actually nice for the fact that my mom "locked" caleb in their room until he fell asleep. hehe. i think he shut the door to their room (that's his new thing, closing our doors) and then he couldn't get out anymore. i could hear him knocking from the inside of their room, then crying loudly, but my mom didn't let him out and there was no way in hell i was going to get him. lol.
it's 720, brynna's pau bocha and i'm gonna bocha caleb soon. unfortunately, both took naps today so i'm thinking an extra early bedtime isn't going to work tonight.
Friday, February 18, 2011
whose job?
so today, for the first time that i can remember in 11 years of teaching, a parent actually followed through and shadowed his kid. she was screwing up royally with her grades and at the parent conference last week her parents were pissed. she didn't know he was coming today, and wasn't very happy to have him there. by the time she got to my class, the last period of the day, she seemed better. i asked him if he wanted to sit by her but he said no so he sat at a table away from her. lol.
anyways, we often have this conversation about whose job it is to make the kids do what they're supposed to do. is it us as teachers? is it the parents? what happens when the parents aren't making the kids do what they're supposed to do? do we say, "well, they no care, i no care too", do we bend over backwards to make them do it, do we do something in the middle? i think the lengths i go to now, as opposed to before caleb and brynna, are different. i had no problem staying until 4 or 430 in the past for tutoring...now, the kids know they have until 330...so i also make sure that in that time they have, they do as much as they can. i treasure my lunch time, so i rarely stay in for kids at lunch, but if they truly needed it, i'd do it. but when kids don't show me effort and aren't caring about their grades, i'll rag them about it, give them the pissed off and disappointed speech, but after a while, it's their choice.
i think that since most of us (teachers) had parents who made us do what we were supposed to and since we were fairly smart, this wasn't an issue for us so it's hard to see why it should be an issue for anyone else. it baffles us that parents can't look at the planner, or check the kid's engrade, or make them do their homework. at the same time, though, i gotta remind myself that not all kids have the white picket fence home life. i mean, sheesh, looking at my own family, there's vast difference educationally between my older siblings, me, and my younger siblings, and we all in the same family (kind of...lol).
i often wonder how dave and i will be as parents, especially when caleb and brynna reach that middle school/hs age. we think we'll be two steps ahead of them and that they'll be model students, but who knows. my aunty, a teacher, was on my cousin choke and he still managed to set himself on cruise control and drive her crazy. so when he wasn't doing his stuff in school, was that her fault? no. was it the teacher's fault? no. it was just him, being him, and i bet he worked for teachers who pushed him and ragged his ass and didn't for the ones he didn't really like.
so i guess i have no answer for this never ending conversation. it is interesting, though, to hear opinions from all different kinds of people.
anyways, we often have this conversation about whose job it is to make the kids do what they're supposed to do. is it us as teachers? is it the parents? what happens when the parents aren't making the kids do what they're supposed to do? do we say, "well, they no care, i no care too", do we bend over backwards to make them do it, do we do something in the middle? i think the lengths i go to now, as opposed to before caleb and brynna, are different. i had no problem staying until 4 or 430 in the past for tutoring...now, the kids know they have until 330...so i also make sure that in that time they have, they do as much as they can. i treasure my lunch time, so i rarely stay in for kids at lunch, but if they truly needed it, i'd do it. but when kids don't show me effort and aren't caring about their grades, i'll rag them about it, give them the pissed off and disappointed speech, but after a while, it's their choice.
i think that since most of us (teachers) had parents who made us do what we were supposed to and since we were fairly smart, this wasn't an issue for us so it's hard to see why it should be an issue for anyone else. it baffles us that parents can't look at the planner, or check the kid's engrade, or make them do their homework. at the same time, though, i gotta remind myself that not all kids have the white picket fence home life. i mean, sheesh, looking at my own family, there's vast difference educationally between my older siblings, me, and my younger siblings, and we all in the same family (kind of...lol).
i often wonder how dave and i will be as parents, especially when caleb and brynna reach that middle school/hs age. we think we'll be two steps ahead of them and that they'll be model students, but who knows. my aunty, a teacher, was on my cousin choke and he still managed to set himself on cruise control and drive her crazy. so when he wasn't doing his stuff in school, was that her fault? no. was it the teacher's fault? no. it was just him, being him, and i bet he worked for teachers who pushed him and ragged his ass and didn't for the ones he didn't really like.
so i guess i have no answer for this never ending conversation. it is interesting, though, to hear opinions from all different kinds of people.
tgif
man, this week has been a long one.
i'm thankful that last night, caleb stayed in his room. he made some attempts to climb in our bed, but in the end he went back to his own room. found him on the floor this morning when i went in to wake up my mom.
i must have gotten a pretty good sleep...at least long enough spurts to actually dream. lol.
brynna woke up this morning screaming. i wonder if she was having a bad dream, or if she was having a hard time breathing cuz she has hanabata nose again.
i'm going to love this long weekend, even if i know it will fly by and even if i have a million and one papers to look at.
you know what's kinda cool...even though reading out loud to five classes tears my voice/throat up, hearing the kids excited to keep reading is soooo cool. it still pisses me off when they read ahead and try to ruin it for the rest, but that they're excited about something for once is nice.
i'm thankful that last night, caleb stayed in his room. he made some attempts to climb in our bed, but in the end he went back to his own room. found him on the floor this morning when i went in to wake up my mom.
i must have gotten a pretty good sleep...at least long enough spurts to actually dream. lol.
brynna woke up this morning screaming. i wonder if she was having a bad dream, or if she was having a hard time breathing cuz she has hanabata nose again.
i'm going to love this long weekend, even if i know it will fly by and even if i have a million and one papers to look at.
you know what's kinda cool...even though reading out loud to five classes tears my voice/throat up, hearing the kids excited to keep reading is soooo cool. it still pisses me off when they read ahead and try to ruin it for the rest, but that they're excited about something for once is nice.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
romance after two
no, not romance after two in the morning, lol.
romance after two kids.
i'll be brutally honest here...doesn't happen! lol. seriously, i'm not sure how we got pregs with brynna so fast cuz i swear we had no time or energy for baby making but it must have been one of those five times it happened after caleb was born. hehe.
so valentine's day. i can't remember if i was ever really big on valentine's day. i know dave and i got engaged on our valentine's date in 2004, and that we went out to eat at dk's for valentine's another year, but beyond that, i don't really remember much.
so this valentine's day, doing nothing wasn't a big deal.
the week before valentine's we went to longs and i told dave to go find me a card and i'd find him one too...so i found one, but when i saw it cost $4, i couldn't bring myself to buy it and just told him to read it in the store. hehe.
dave did end up getting me a card...at times when he was sent to buy some groceries. he said even though i said not to buy cards, he didn't know if it was a trick so he just bought one in case. lol. who me, play mind games like that? never. hehe.
maybe someday when the kids are older we'll find that romance in our relationship again. as long as i get lovies (cuddles) on demand, i'm good, so no matter if it's valentine's day or not. lol.
romance after two kids.
i'll be brutally honest here...doesn't happen! lol. seriously, i'm not sure how we got pregs with brynna so fast cuz i swear we had no time or energy for baby making but it must have been one of those five times it happened after caleb was born. hehe.
so valentine's day. i can't remember if i was ever really big on valentine's day. i know dave and i got engaged on our valentine's date in 2004, and that we went out to eat at dk's for valentine's another year, but beyond that, i don't really remember much.
so this valentine's day, doing nothing wasn't a big deal.
the week before valentine's we went to longs and i told dave to go find me a card and i'd find him one too...so i found one, but when i saw it cost $4, i couldn't bring myself to buy it and just told him to read it in the store. hehe.
dave did end up getting me a card...at times when he was sent to buy some groceries. he said even though i said not to buy cards, he didn't know if it was a trick so he just bought one in case. lol. who me, play mind games like that? never. hehe.
maybe someday when the kids are older we'll find that romance in our relationship again. as long as i get lovies (cuddles) on demand, i'm good, so no matter if it's valentine's day or not. lol.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
sick again
yesterday caleb had fever, runny nose, and his hacking cough doesn't seem to be getting better. we're taking him in to dr. sumida today so we'll see if he goes on antibiotics again. the cough syrup we have doesn't seem to be helping too much...it sounds like he has a lot of yucks in his chest that he can't seem to get out.
now i'm worried that brynna will get sick too. caleb loves to kiss and hug her, so i figure it's only a matter of time...
i just pray that me, my mom, or dave doesn't get sick too!
now i'm worried that brynna will get sick too. caleb loves to kiss and hug her, so i figure it's only a matter of time...
i just pray that me, my mom, or dave doesn't get sick too!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
what a week ahead...
this week is gonna be kuh-razy. tomorrow i'm flying to maui for the day for my grandpa's funeral. that in itself should be interesting, what with new family dynamics and all that.
tuesday is a no-prep day. gotta give out progress reports. not in my own classroom cuz we're switching for testing so that should be interesting. tuesday evening we have a class to go to for brynna's baptism, which happens on sunday.
wednesday is the critical reading presentation. wish i could tell you i know exactly how it's going to go, but i don't yet. i have the outline, just gotta fill in exactly what i'm gonna say and do to make it flow well. lots of pressure to not screw it up.
thursday is tutoring and i expect to see a lot of kids cuz they'll finally realize that they're messing up since they're getting progress reports. you know, cuz they don't already know cuz they're lame and don't check their engrade.
friday...i think it'll be a thank GOD it's friday kind of a day. as long as i don't do any "shut the hell ups" by the end of the day, i'll call it a success.
at least i've planned out fairly easy meals for the week. tonight we had baked mac and cheese (yay for finally making something i saw alton brown do on food network!), tomorrow we have baked french toast for breakfast and leftovers for dinner, tuesday i'll do pasta with tomato cream sauce (woohoo deena and pioneer woman!), weds is hamburger baked beans and thurs is chicken stir fry. hopefully friday we'll have some leftovers and i can just chill. either that or i'm making dave buy us dinner. lol.
tuesday is a no-prep day. gotta give out progress reports. not in my own classroom cuz we're switching for testing so that should be interesting. tuesday evening we have a class to go to for brynna's baptism, which happens on sunday.
wednesday is the critical reading presentation. wish i could tell you i know exactly how it's going to go, but i don't yet. i have the outline, just gotta fill in exactly what i'm gonna say and do to make it flow well. lots of pressure to not screw it up.
thursday is tutoring and i expect to see a lot of kids cuz they'll finally realize that they're messing up since they're getting progress reports. you know, cuz they don't already know cuz they're lame and don't check their engrade.
friday...i think it'll be a thank GOD it's friday kind of a day. as long as i don't do any "shut the hell ups" by the end of the day, i'll call it a success.
at least i've planned out fairly easy meals for the week. tonight we had baked mac and cheese (yay for finally making something i saw alton brown do on food network!), tomorrow we have baked french toast for breakfast and leftovers for dinner, tuesday i'll do pasta with tomato cream sauce (woohoo deena and pioneer woman!), weds is hamburger baked beans and thurs is chicken stir fry. hopefully friday we'll have some leftovers and i can just chill. either that or i'm making dave buy us dinner. lol.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
cuddling happiness
i haven't really read much about the benefits and/or consequences to be had by having your children in bed with you. i know everyone says, "don't do it," because once they're in there, you can't kick um out. i get that. i don't want the four of us sleeping together when caleb and brynna are in their teens or anything like that...
but there's nothing i like more than being in bed, caleb to my right, brynna to my left, dave next to brynna. i love weekend mornings when caleb crawls into our bed, then brynna comes into bed after a feeding, and we all go to sleep together. when i wake up, i feel happy.
last night caleb woke up at 230 because he went to bed at about 530 since he hadn't taken a nap in the daytime. i got up with him, he wanted milk, and after drinking a little bit he wanted to get in our bed. i drifted in and out of sleep while caleb quietly entertained himself and dave slept soundly. after a while, caleb got tired again and he asked to be carried. there was no way in hell i was getting up, and luckily he was content to just snuggle and hug me until he fell asleep. that is bliss...to cuddle with my babies! my overwhelming love language is physical touch, and there is nothing better than to snuggle with caleb and brynna.
but there's nothing i like more than being in bed, caleb to my right, brynna to my left, dave next to brynna. i love weekend mornings when caleb crawls into our bed, then brynna comes into bed after a feeding, and we all go to sleep together. when i wake up, i feel happy.
last night caleb woke up at 230 because he went to bed at about 530 since he hadn't taken a nap in the daytime. i got up with him, he wanted milk, and after drinking a little bit he wanted to get in our bed. i drifted in and out of sleep while caleb quietly entertained himself and dave slept soundly. after a while, caleb got tired again and he asked to be carried. there was no way in hell i was getting up, and luckily he was content to just snuggle and hug me until he fell asleep. that is bliss...to cuddle with my babies! my overwhelming love language is physical touch, and there is nothing better than to snuggle with caleb and brynna.
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